Though countryside skies and childhood fairytales promise a notion of their proximity and generosity, the truth is, stars rest in space at a distance beyond the mind's capacity to fully conceive. Steady fireballs burning lightyears away, it's more than their glow that make them the perfect metaphor for Hollywood's fame hierarchy: the sheer will it takes over so many thankless years to reach star status parallels the space flight required.

With that grit and patience and understanding of greatness required to reach that star level, conversely, the meteoritic rise and atmospheric flameouts of Hollywood one-hit wonders mimics the dangers of untethered space travel. So often, it's the child actor, shot from a rocket into show business at an age far earlier than is truly advisable, that assumes that arc of the solar flare, or the imploding dwarf that never shone bright enough. The stories of troubled adulthoods following childhood flame are legion, with a certain extra mettle required to avoid the fate.

Perhaps appropriately, given his character's legendary magical powers and storyline of simmering bravery and valor, it seemed that Daniel Radcliffe, the big screen's Harry Potter, would defy those pitfalls and reach that star status, so calm and collected and level-headed, he. And as his final Hogwarts adventure rushes toward worldwide release, it does indeed look as if he will be the exception to the rule, a star in his adult years akin to a Ron Howard or Michael J. Fox. But as he reveals, it wasn't always so written in stone that he would make that transition.

Speaking to GQ UK about a mid-Potter lapse in self-control and appreciation, Radcliffe revealed that for a while, "I became so reliant on alcohol to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me."

Now 21, Radcliffe largely escaped much paparazzi scrutiny for his hard-partying ways (though some photos were captured by the Daily Mirror), a stroke of luck rarely afforded a child star in the midst of growing pains. And though any photos that would catch him drinking would now only reveal a partier, not a law breaker, Radcliffe says he's moved past that point.